EDUCATE > Agenda 

1. Commission/Public comment regarding the last meeting (10 minutes).

2. Brief introduction to the charter review website: http://www.FullOpenReview.org (5 minutes).

3. Further definition of the review process (20 minutes) - at our last meeting we outlined a rough framework for reviewing the charter. This time we will refine that framework further to include topics and dates to help provide a "roadmap" we can follow moving forward.

4. Values discussion (90 minutes) - we all want a government that's competent, accountable, transparent, efficient, responsive and inclusive, but what do these words really mean? No doubt we all have our own individual ideas, however, that's not to say our individual ideas coincide. The Commission (and town) needs to share its ideas and definitions of these terms to ensure we have a common "vocabulary" as we go forward.

During our meeting, we should be prepared to share our views (definitions) of these terms and add others if necessary. I would like to use this next session as a "brainstorming" exercise to help solidify consensus on these governance values, however, I do not intend to have the commission vote on the definition of terms.

5. Closing Commission/Public comment (10 minutes)

EDUCATE > Public outreach

The commission invites interested parties to share their perspectives on, and aspirations for, the Charter Commission process and outcome.

This will include, but not be limited to, unsuccessful Charter Commission candidates, former Charter Commission and Committee members, town officials, staff and the general public.

Agenda

1) Public Comment
2) Acceptance of Minutes
3) Budget Approval
4) Hear from Mikki Chaffee Chair of the 2003 Charter Committee
5) Hear from Bill Nolan Chair of the 2000 Charter Commission
6) Public Input and Discussion (all welcome)

EDUCATE > Understanding the Home Rule Ammendment

The Commission will hear from Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) representatives Marilyn Contreas, of the Department of Housing and Community Development, and Bob Ritchie, Director of the Municipal Law Unit Office of the Attorney General Springfield speak about the Home Rule Amendment and the charter review process in general. "Suggested reading" for this meeting: Local Charter Procedures, Dispelling the Myth of Home Rule, Municipal Charters & Forms of Government in Massachusetts.

The MMA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association that provides advocacy, training, publications, research and other services to Massachusetts cities and towns.

The representatives will be providing information regarding:

• charter commission procedures and provisions of c. 43B

• trends in charter adoption

• factors leading to charter commission election/adoption of charter:

• charter features/purpose, consequences, etc. (e.g., centralized organization, lines of authority, lines of communication/coordination)

• other considerations for charter adoption, e.g. capturing the limited flexibility that the Home Rule Amendment provides, anticipating future needs and concerns in the charter (charter amendment process)

Tentative Agenda

• Public comment

• MMA discussion

• Acceptance of prior meeting minutes

• Old/New Commission business

• Closing public comment

EDUCATE > Plymouth Key Issues

The Commission will invite "local" individuals (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges the town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will attempt to codify Plymouth's needs and requirements that may require special governmental treatment while simultaneously determining whether those "special governmental treatments" will require further counsel (from outside specialist) to determine if they fall within the purview of the Home Rule Amendment.

Tentative Agenda

• Public comment

• Acceptance of minutes

• Commission old/new business

• Budget discussion/presentation (Bruce Miller)

• Hear from John Chaffee and Ken Tavares regarding the 1987/88 Charter Commission

• Hear from Dickie Quintal, Selectmen Chair, and Mark Sylvia, Town Manager regarding operational challenges facing the Town today

• Closing public comment

EDUCATE > Plymouth Key Issues

The Commission will invite "local" individuals (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges the town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will attempt to codify Plymouth's needs and requirements that may require special governmental treatment while simultaneously determining whether those "special governmental treatments" will require further counsel (from outside specialist) to determine if they fall within the purview of the Home Rule Amendment.

Agenda

• Public comment

• Hear from Steve Triffletti, Town Moderator, to discuss operational challenges

• Acceptance of minutes

• Hear from Bill Abbott, Chair regarding the 1998/99 Charter Commission

• Hear from Joe Bisaccio, FinCom Chair, to discuss operational challenges

• Start to hear from various Town Meeting Members (Rich Serkey)

• Commission old/new business

• Closing public comment

EDUCATE > Plymouth Key Issues

The Commission will invite "local" individuals (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges the town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will attempt to codify Plymouth's needs and requirements that may require special governmental treatment while simultaneously determining whether those "special governmental treatments" will require further counsel (from outside specialist) to determine if they fall within the purview of the Home Rule Amendment.

Agenda

• Public comment

• Acceptance of minutes

• Hear from the Planning Board, Steering Committee Chairs and selected Town Meeting Members regarding the challenges we are/will face into the future and the strengths and weaknesses the current systems provides in dealing with them.
  

• Commission old/new business

• Closing public comment

EDUCATE > Key Issues Synergy

The Commission will invite individuals from outside Plymouth (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges their town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will start to determine whether Plymouth's needs and requirements align with those particular communities with the intent of leveraging their prior efforts and knowledge.

Massachusetts Municipal Management Association (MMMA) part one

The Massachusetts Municipal Management Association (MMMA) is a professional association dedicated to serving appointed chief and assistant municipal managers and administrators in Massachusetts cities and towns.

The MMMA's Form of Government (FoG) Committee assists charter commissions and study committees in understanding the options, pros and cons, and processes of changing or modifying their existing municipal form of government.

Peter Hechenbleikner, Director of the MMMA will coordinate and present a two part series introducing the Commission to other forms of goverment both from within and outside the Commonwealth; guest speaker will include elected and appointed officials. This meeting:

• Jeff Nutting: Town Manager in Franklin, which has a Council/Manager form of government. Jeff has been a School Committee member and a Selectman, and has been a Town Manager for 30 years.

• Bob Mercier, Town Administrator from Burlington will speak about their "continuous" Town Meeting form of governance. Unlike traditional Town Meeting which dissolves upon the conclusion of the warrant articles, Burlington remains in session.

EDUCATE > Key Issues Synergy

The Commission will invite individuals from outside Plymouth (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges their town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will start to determine whether Plymouth's needs and requirements align with those particular communities with the intent of leveraging their prior efforts and knowledge.

Agenda

• Public comment

• Acceptance of minutes

• The Barnstable Town Council is a thirteen member elected body acting as the legislative and policy-making branch of town government. Greg Milne (Counselor from West Hyasnnisport - Precinct 13) will be on hand to discuss Barnstable's transition from a Town form of government to a Council/Manager.

• Start to discuss a framework to facilitate the second phase of the review: DIAGNOSE.  The framework will outline the "workflow" of a conceptual government model against which the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis) of Plymouth's current form of government can be evaluated.

• Commission old/new business

• Closing public comment

Background

The Town of Barnstable is a city located on Cape Cod in Massachusetts; it is the county seat of Barnstable County. The population was 47,821 at the 2000 census. The city contains several villages ( the village of Barnstable , Centerville, Cotuit , Hyannis, including Hyannis Port, Marstons Mills, Osterville, West Barnstable) within its boundaries, one of which is home to Cape Cod's commercial air hub, Barnstable Municipal Airport.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 197.5 km² (76.2 mi²). 155.5 km² (60.0 mi²) of it is land and 42.0 km² (16.2 mi²) of it (21.26%) is water.

As of the census of 2000, there were 47,821 people, 19,626 households, and 13,012 families residing in the city. The population density was 307.5/km² (796.5/mi²). There were 25,018 housing units at an average density of 160.9/km² (416.7/mi²).

EDUCATE > Key Issues Synergy

The Commission will invite individuals from outside Plymouth (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges their town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will start to determine whether Plymouth's needs and requirements align with those particular communities with the intent of leveraging their prior efforts and knowledge.

Massachusetts Municipal Management Association (MMMA) part two

The Massachusetts Municipal Management Association (MMMA) is a professional association dedicated to serving appointed chief and assistant municipal managers and administrators in Massachusetts cities and towns. The MMMA was established in the mid-1970s, exists under its parent organization, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, and presently has about 250 members.

The MMMA has an active Form of Government (FoG) Committee, the members of which are available to assist charter commissions and study committees in understanding the options, pros and cons, and processes of changing or modifying their existing municipal form of government.

Peter Hechenbleikner, Director of the MMMA will coordinate and present the second of a two part series introducing the Commission to other forms of goverment both from within and outside the Commonwealth; [tentative] guest speakers:

• Bernie Lynch: Newly installed City Manager in Lowell, which is a City Council/Manager form of government with a mayor. Bernie was previously the Town Manager in Chelmsford for 19 years. Lowell is interesting view of a city form with a mayor and manager - common in the remainder of the US, but not so common in New England.

EDUCATE > Plymouth Key Issues

The Commission will invite "local" individuals (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges the town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will attempt to codify Plymouth's needs and requirements that may require special governmental treatment while simultaneously determining whether those "special governmental treatments" will require further counsel (from outside specialist) to determine if they fall within the purview of the Home Rule Amendment.

Agenda

• Public comment

• Acceptance of minutes

• Hear from Lee Hartmann, Director of Planning and Developments, Denis Hanks Executive Director Plymouth Area Chamber of Commerce, Richard Serkey of Winokur, Serkey & Rosenberg, P.C. and Randy Parker of Land Management Services, Inc. regarding the development challenges facing Plymouth with a specific focus upon the ~33 square miles of undeveloped land still available (about the size of an average MA city/town) and the strengths and weaknesses the current systems provides in dealing with them.

• Commission old/new business

• Closing public comment

EDUCATE > Plymouth Key Issues

The Commission will invite "local" individuals (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges the town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will attempt to codify Plymouth's needs and requirements that may require special governmental treatment while simultaneously determining whether those "special governmental treatments" will require further counsel (from outside specialist) to determine if they fall within the purview of the Home Rule Amendment.

Tentative Agenda

• Public comment

• Acceptance of minutes

• Hear from Plymouth School Committee Chair and School Superintendent regarding the challenges we are/will face into the future and the strengths and weaknesses the current systems provides in dealing with them.

• Commission old/new business

• Closing public comment

DIAGNOSE > Review Current Charter

The Commission will begin the process of dissecting the current charter to determine what is working and what's not. Recommendations will be proposed, avoiding the language of current government "templates" - i.e., Selectmen-Town Meeting, Mayor-Council - rather discussing them in operational terms - number of people involved, qualifications, roles and responsibilities, checks and balances, reporting requirements, etc.

As a matter of practicality, these ideas will be mapped to State statutes that dictate required elements - i.e., executive and legislative functions, planning, administration, education, taxing and other capabilities.

Agenda

• The Plymouth Charter Review Commission invites residents to share their thoughts and concerns regarding the performance of Plymouth's local government.  Residents are encouraged to provide specific examples of instances where the Town did or did not perform to their expectations.  Examples might include the quality, speed or effectiveness of a particular action the Town undertook.

   

DIAGNOSE > Review Current Charter

The Commission will begin the process of dissecting the current charter to determine what is working and what's not. Recommendations will be proposed, avoiding the language of current government "templates" - i.e., Selectmen-Town Meeting, Mayor-Council - rather discussing them in operational terms - number of people involved, qualifications, roles and responsibilities, checks and balances, reporting requirements, etc.

Tentative Agenda

The Commission will begin to review Plymouth's existing charter with the aim (similar to our public request on 12/7/06) to share their thoughts and concerns regarding the performance of Plymouth's current form of government.  The Commissioners will provide specific examples of instances where the Town did or did not perform to their expectation.

The intent of this exercise is to provide each Commissioner with a venue where they can [begin to] express their thoughts for the commission to consider into the future.

Similar to the Public Comment format, the Commissioners will engage only to the extent of gaining an understanding/clarification of their respective views - debate and discusioin of the merit of the public and Commissioner's concern will be conducted during future meetings.

DIAGNOSE > Review Current Charter

The Comission will hear from long-time Selectman, Dave Maligutti.  The Commission will also continue its DIAGNOSE efforts (see: http://www.fullopenreview.org/content/view/88/25/) providing each commissioner with the opportunity to comment on the performance of Plymouth's current form of government.

On deck:

• Karen Buechs

• Jean Loewenberg

Summarizing the DIAGNOSE process, over the next several meetings we will:

• share the Commissioner's views on the performance of the government;

• collate the public and commission's input;

• debate and discuss those results;

• codify our findings into a diagnosis of Plymouth's current form of government;

DIAGNOSE > Review Current Charter

The Commission will continue its DIAGNOSE efforts (see: http://www.fullopenreview.org/content/view/88/25/) providing each commissioner with the opportunity to comment on the performance of Plymouth's current form of government.

NOTE: each commissioner is free to use whatever method they chose to elaborate upon their views. It is not necessary to use the "chevron" format described at 1/4/07 meeting.

Summarizing the DIAGNOSE process, over the next several meeting we will:

• share the Commissioner's views on the performance of the government;

• collate the public and commission's input;

• debate and discuss those results;

• codify our findings into a diagnosis of Plymouth's current form of government;

The Commission will take its direction from that diagnosis ultimately prescribing revisions to the charter that address those ailments. Per the Home Rule Amendment, the Charter Commission must forward a draft of the propose charter to the MA Attorney General by August 13th, 2007. To accomplish this task, we will be increasing our meeting frequency in the upcoming months. Please check the website for up-to-date information.

PACTV will now cablecast all our "Town Hall" meetings live and we will post the video on our website http://www.FullOpenReview.org. Note, many of our January and February meetings will take place in PCIS (check the website for locations) due to room scheduling conflicts at Town Hall. Unfortunately, PACTV cannot cablecast live from PCIS, and therefore, we will recablecast those meetings on PACTV's normal schedule. Check the PACTV website for times and dates.

EDUCATE > Key Issues Synergy

The Commission will invite individuals from outside Plymouth (both elected and appointed) with varied governmental roles and experiences to discuss operational challenges their town is/will face. From these discussions the Commission will start to determine whether Plymouth's needs and requirements align with those particular communities with the intent of leveraging their prior efforts and knowledge.

The Town [City] of Weymouth:

The City of Weymouth has recently changed from a Representative Town Meeting form of government to a City.  Weymouth's Mayor Madden has been kind enough to accept our invitation and come to Plymouth to answer the Commission's questions on the structure and experiences of Weymouth during this process.

Mayor David. M. Madden: In May of 1999, residents of Weymouth voted to change their form of government from a Board of Selectmen/Town Meeting to the election of a Mayor and Town Council. In November of 1999, David Madden was elected Weymouth’s first Mayor and took office in January 2000 for a term of four years. Mayor Madden has deep roots in the Weymouth community - being a fourth generation resident of the Town of Weymouth, born in South Shore Hospital, and is a graduate of Weymouth North High School.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 53,988 people, 22,028 households, and 13,921 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,225.4/km² (3,174.2/mi²). There were 22,573 housing units at an average density of 512.4/km² (1,327.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.9% White, 1.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.6% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.3% of the population.

There were 22,028 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.08.

DIAGNOSE > Review Current Charter

The Commission will continue its DIAGNOSE efforts; providing each commissioner with the opportunity to comment on the performance of Plymouth's current form of government. 
Summarizing the DIAGNOSE process, over the next several meeting we will:

• share each Commissioner's view on the performance of the current government;

• collate the public and commission's input;

• debate and discuss those results;

• codify our findings into a diagnosis of Plymouth's current form of government;

The Commission will also interview and choose its consulting partner who will assist in writing the charter.